Ski



oct. 21, 1941. J. l.. -HoT-SON I 2,260,027

SKI

Filed May '7, 1940 1 '621%22 ffl @gliel/25 f4 w A .J5 2

Patented Oct. 21, 1941 SKI John Leslie Hotson, Haverford, Pa. i

Application May 7, 1940, Serial No. 333,729

15 Claims. (cl. 28o-11.10)

l Thepresent invention relates to a Ysport device,

-a ski, for skiing and bike-joring without snow,

as on the slopes and flats of a campus, on special runways and elsewhere.

A purpose of the inventionV isto provide an inexpensive heavy duty ski of the type indicated having a spring metal blade with parts very easy to disassemble'and reassemble, as for cleaning, and with thedevice Vwell suited to the needs of skiing and bike-joring without snow.

A further purpose is initially to set two caterpillar belts or bands upon a spring ski blade, one in a downwardly and forwardly sloping position at one end and the other in a downwardly and rearwardly sloping position at the other end, in order that the spring of the blade may be used to cause the belts or bands to follow the immediate contour of the ground under them, much as if the twofcaterpillar belts were trunnioned at an intermediate point between their supporting rollers.

A further purpose is to mount a caterpillar belt for a ski longitudinallyof the ski upon transversely convex rollers having clinging surfaces.

A further purpose is to take up the strain of endless or caterpillar belt support by cushioning the surfaces of supporting rollers, the supporting rollers preferably being convex and rubber covered.

A further purpose is toprovide caterpillar ski sections with roller supportlarger in diameter at the center line of the caterpillar belt than at the edges.

A further purpose is to support a caterpillar ski belt at the edges throughout the effective 'f bearing length of the belt.

A further purpose is to provide lateral upwardly and outwardly curved fender surfaces for a ski' carrying anti-friction devices for' engagement with the ground.

A further purpose is longitudinally to groove a ski surface and to run an apron or belt in the direction of the lengths Aof the grooves, yturning the edges of the apron or beltinto some of the grooves. n

A further purpose is to provide a friction brake for a ski, dependent upon slowing down the travel of a belt in a caterpillar ski section.

A further purpose is to provide a ski with caterpillar or belt support and toA Yratchet the 1' Cal Further purposes will appear in tion and in the claims.

I have preferred to illustrate one main form only of the invention, selecting a form which' is practical,v effective and inexpensive but which has been chosen primarily because it well illustrates the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of myV ski taken on line l-l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is la top plan view of my ski. g

Figures 3, land 5 are diagrammatic views of one of my skis showing the parts in different positions.

the specifica- Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view correspond- My roller ski is intended primarily for use 'in' sliding down-hill on ground with proper control of turning, skidding, braking, and steering such as characterize the snow ski.

My ski provides primarily front and rear caterpillar sections and' an intermediate raised bridge section, the ski being provided with the usual strap, clamps, and other gripping connections by which the shoe of the ski user is held upon the intermediate raised section.

The ski blade comprises a narrow spring metal strip l5 upturned at I 6 so as to ride over obstacles. It supports caterpillar treads at front and rear. The blade is properly slotted at I l, I8, I9 .and 20 to permit passage of the front and rear caterpillar rollers 2l and 22 andbelts 23 and is raised between these sections to form a bridge section 24 covered by a wooden decking 25 adapted properly to receive suitable shoe-holding clamps and straps 26 for shoe or boot 21.

y Relieved of the weight of the user the front section 28 slopes forwardly and slightly downwardly and the rear section 29 slopes rearwardly and slightly downwardly as best seen in Figure 3.

The spring material of the blade not only bends with the users weight until the two caterpillar sections are parallel, to follow level ground, (see Figure 4) but where the ski is operating across a hollow it yields also sulciently to allow the caterpillar sections to reverse their slopes as in Figure 5. Front section 28 then slopes forwardly and upwardly and rear section 2Q slopes rearwardly and upwardly.

The lower faces and 3| of the front and rear ski blade between the belt-supporting rollers or wheels may be substantially straight in longitudinal sections, as in Figure 4, to offer support for the lower stretches 32 of the caterpillar belts 23 as in Figure 1, or may be upwardly concaved as at 33 (Figure 6) to permit the lower belt stretches 32 to yield `vertically between the belt supports, to follow the ground where the ground is irregular.

The rollers 2| and 22 for the continuous flexible thin metal belts 23 are of convex (barrel like) contour.

Each of the convex rollers or pulleys 2l and 22 is mounted by ball bearings 34 from Outer races 35 connected by any suitable brackets with the blade of the ski. at 36 to permit passage of bolts 31 holding the brackets to the ski blade; By this arrangement the belts may be tightened by. releasing the bolts, vpulling the brackets uto the new `position and tightening the bracket bolts. The other pair of brackets for each belt need not be slotted. Separate construction of the brackets is quitedesirable because it is then possible jto roll the ski blade longitudinally or press it free from brackets and lugs and to treat the skiblade separately for each additional function required. Y

'Ihe belts may be supported additionally by the use of additional convex rollers 38 between the belt-stretching end rollers, as seen in Figure 1.

The additional stretching of the laterally central parts of the caterpillar belts or bands caused passed through the blade or may be bared or clinched to effect a less permanent joint whether transverse or diagonal.

The ski blade is curved in cross-section .at 39 and extends laterally beyond the caterpillar sections in the form of outwardly and upwardly curved flanges 4i). The outwardly and upwardly curved flanges 4E] carry free-running guide balls 4l which are mounted in ball bearings 42 and turn freely in all directions. The outwardly and upwardly curving flanges provide a guiding and braking actionwhen the ski is turned to present a iiange to the ground, as is the case in snow skiing, and, together with the balls located on their upwardly curved surfaces, vand projecting to any desired extent beyond the flange surfaces, provide for turning when the ski is rocked transversely from the normal vertical position. The balls particularly facilitate turning of the tilted ski from its forward direction.

The ski blade is longitudinally corrugated at 43 in order to reduce the extent of Contact between the belt or tread of the caterpillar section and theV adjacent ski surface. The corrugations preferably are not directly longitudinal because this direction would increase the chance of scoring and would increase the wear upon the ski blade as well as and in particular upon the caterpillar endless belt or tread. The corrugations are therefore waved or made sinuous-within the sections covered by the belts or treads.

One pair of brackets is slotted reduces accidental lateral skidding of the ski. falso assists in keeping dirt and other foreign At the rear ends of the blade flanges the lower flange treads are provided with downwardly facing ridges or ribs 44 which diverge outwardly and rearwardly to give additional friction for stopping and turning purposes.

The ski blade is longitudinally cut or grooved at 45 and 46 in order to cooperate with inwardly turned belt edges and thus to provide interlocking between edge flanges 41 upon the edges of the belt andthesetcuts or grooves. This not only tends to center the belt or tread to prevent it from being shoved sideways `by pressures due to sudden change of direction of the blade but it It matter out of the space between the belt or tread and the cooperating face of the ski blade.

The'facing of wood upon the bridge of the ski blade makes it possible for each ski enthusiast to use his own preference of special or standard binding for the shoe i. e. toe-plates and means for attaching the toe and heel straps, and the same shoes or ski boots as he normally uses for snow ski equipment.

'Ihe rollers serving as pulleys for the endless caterpillar belts, bands or treads are preferably faced at 48 with aresilient material which desirably has also a clinging surface. For this purpose I have found soft rubber excellent. The rubber Vnot only assists in the clinging of the belt or tread to the pulleys but yields enough so that the belt need not be excessively tight upon the rollers or pulleys.

The rear belt may be braked so as to permit retardation when a particularly steep descent is planned. A, -conventional preliminary set brake is shown for this purpose. The bracket 49 holds an adjusting screw 50 by which a prepared brake unit 5| is pressed against one end, here the front end of the belt where the belt passes over one ofthe rollers.

To prevent backward coasting a ratchet and latch control of the rear belt is shown, the ratchet 52 being carried by one ofthe rollers for the rear belt and the latch 53 being supported by any fixed part. o I

The essential movement in snow skiing is swinging the ski sideways to the slope andstopping by turning up on edge.

In my invention the beltsare used largely for forward motion.' The side flanges are used for braking action. forward and during the swing. The guide balls on the edges front and rear assist in setting the turn going and facilitate torque orY swing or turning of the tilted ski from its forward motion.

Inview of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim` or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benets of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable Vspirit and scope of my invention.

3. In a ground ski, a resilient ski blade adapted to bend to accommodate to the surface over which it is operated, in combination withcaterpillar treads located near the two ends of the blade, whereby the caterpillar structure is enabled to tilt with the yielding of the blade and follow the contours of the adjacent ground.

4. A ski having longitudinally spaced rollers in pairs, a pair at each encl, belts, one about each pair of the rollers forming a double caterpillar structure, a spring blade supporting the rollers and when not under pressure holding the belts sloping, downwardly and forwardly at the front and downwardly and rearwardly at the rback and a foot support between the two caterpillar belts, the blade being adapted to bend until the directions of slope of the caterpillar belts are reversed.

5. In a ski, a ski blade extending longitudinally from end to end of transverse downwardly convexed cross section, rollers mounted upon the blade in spaced position and of convex section, the convexity of the rollers approximating the convexity of the blade, bearing supports for the rollers and belts about the rollers extending above the blade on the upper sides of the rollers and below the blade on the lower sides of the rollers and intermediate rollers and bearings supporting the belt at intermediate points.

6. In a ski, a ski blade extending longitudinally from end to end'and transversely ribbed, of transverse downwardly convexed cross section, rollers mounted upon the blade in spaced position and of convex section, the convexitykof the rollers approximating the convexity of the frame, bearing supports for the rollers and belts about the rollers extending above the blade on the upper sides of the rollers and below the blade on the lower sides of the rollers, the belt sloping forwardly and downwardly when there is no weight on the ski and resting in substantially horizontal position on a level surface when the weight is on the ski.

'7. In a ski, two pairs of rollers, one pair in front and the other behind the position of the rider, two belts, one about each of the pairs of rollers, yforming a caterpillarpair, a blade, 'supports for the rollers from the blade and antifriction devices at the edges of the blade above the normal tread of the blade and angularly facing to receive diagonal side thrust against the skis.

8. In a ski, a longitudinally extending spring blade, a caterpillar belt providing bearing surface for the weight of the rider, extending below the bottom of the blade in its lower reach, roller supports for the caterpillar belt and a friction brake engaging the belt between it and one supporting roller.

9. In a ski, a ski blade extending longitudinally from end to end and transversely ribbed, of

transverse downwardly rconvexed cross section, rollers mounted upon the blade in spaced position and of convex section, the convexity of the rollers approximating the convexity ofthe blade, bearing supports for the rollers and belts about the rollers extending above the blade on the upper sides of the rollers and below the blade on the lower sides of the rollers, and a brake for the belt adjustable and operating against the exterior surface of the belt.

10. In a ski, a transversely downwardly convex spring ski blade having longitudinally extend-v ing grooves in the face of the blade, a pair of rollers mounted upon and dipping beneath the face of the blade, supports for the rollers and a belt passing about the rollers and having its outer edge inturned into the longitudinal grooves in the ski blade.

1l. In a ski, a ski blade extending longitudinally from end to end and of corrugated downwardly convexed cross section, rollers mounted upon the blade in spaced position and of convex section, the convexity of the rollers approximating the convexity of the blade, bearing supports for the rollers and a belt about the rollers extending above the blade on the upper sides of the rollers and below the blade on the lower sides of the rollers, the blade continuing beyond the belt and affording support for the belt against excessive upwardv movement of the lower stretch of the belt.

12. In a ski, a ski blade extending longitudi nally from end to end and transversely ribbed, of transverse downwardly convexed cross section, rollers mounted upon the blade in spaced position and of convex section, the convexity of the rollers approximating the convexity of the blade, bearing supports for the rollers and a belt about the rollers extending above the blade on the upper sides of the rollers and below the blade on the lower sides of the rollers, the blade being lacking in support for the belt between the rollers, whereby the lower stretch of the belt is free to be lifted by the pressure upon Vthe belt from below.

13. In a ski, a ski blade, caterpillar traction sections, one near each end of the ski and preliminarly set brake mechanism operating against the belt of one of the caterpillar traction sections.

lll.` In ar ski, a spring ski blade having caterpillar sections at front and rear, the spring of theblade being such that the caterpillar sections, as sections, follow the contour of the ground, sloping downwardly and forwardly in front and downwardly and rearwardly at the rear when passing over a mound and slope upwardly and forwardly in front and upwardly and rearwardly at the rear when passing across a depression.

15. A resilient ski blade having a position for the foot of the user near the middle of the ski and caterpillar tractor sections adjacent the two ends, respectively, of the ski, the strength of spring of the ski blade being such that when the weight of the rider is not on the ski the caterpillar sections slope downwardly and forwardly infront and downwardly and rearwardly at the back of the ski and with the weight of the user on the ski and the extreme front and rear of the caterpillar sections affording the main support, the caterpillar sections slope upwardly and forwardly in frontk and upwardly and rearwardly at the back.

' JOHN LESLIE I-IOI'SON. 

